Trustees and fundraising handbook
Plenty going on in the world of fundraising in October, starting as is often the case with advice on governance and fundraising. What are trustees’ legal duties and wider responsibilities around their organisations’ fundraising? Recently launched by Institute of Fundraising, Trustees and fundraising: A practical handbook has been produced in partnership with NCVO, Charities Finance Group and ACEVO.
GrantNav
360Giving has launched GrantNav, a free-to-use platform enabling people to search, explore and download the detail of who, where and how much for thousands of grants given by a wide range of UK grantmakers. It’s been funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Indigo Trust and Nesta, and is well worth a look.
Charity Connect launches
Since the last round-up, Charity Connect, a network for people working in and with charities to share ideas, connect and debate has launched. It looks like a great platform for think pieces, making links and fundraising debate.
Best of the fundraising blogs
- Guessing the weight of an ox: An open process to reviewing the rules for fundraising – Daniel Fluskey, head of policy and research at Institute of Fundraising
- Should fundraisers be feeling fine? – James Long on 101Fundraising
- Six policy ideas for the future of charities and philanthropy – Rhodri Davies
- What can corporate fundraisers learn from Dragons’ Den? – Mandy Johnson on Charity Connect
Other fundraising and sustainability news
Bright Ideas fund
Locality recently launched a £1.85m Bright Ideas fund. Do you have a community business idea but don’t know how to set the wheels in motion? This Fund could be for you.
New Beginnings fund
Managed by UK Community Foundations with a consortium of funders including Children In Need, Oak Foundation and Pears Foundation, the New Beginnings fund has launched its second round of funding to help local groups support refugees in the UK. Grants will be awarded to projects which welcome refugees and asylum seekers into the UK.
Big Potential
Big Potential offers grants to support voluntary organisations to increase their social impact either through raising social investment or through winning £1M+ contracts. Applicants must work with an approved provider on the application. Grants pay for organisational capacity and capability development.
Charity authorised investment fund structure
The Charity Investors Group, Charity Law Association and Investment Association recently announced the launch of the charity authorised investment fund (CAIF) structure. A CAIF is a new investment vehicle for charities, designed to offer additional benefits compared with the existing common investment fund (CIF).
Training and events
Go to the training and events section of our website to see all our upcoming events. Highlights include:
- Understanding the numbers: Financial intelligence for trustees – 18 November 2016
- Certificate in financial sustainability – starts 29 November 2016
- Writing successful bids – 27 January 2017
- Starting a new trading venture – 15 February 2017
There’s still time to book your place at the NCVO/BWB Trustee Conference 2016 on Monday 7 November. Join us for essential updates on governance regulation and get practical tools and guidance in our range of expert-led workshops on topics including:
- Overseeing charity finances – real life guidance for trustees
- Fundraising regulation and data protection: How can charities build strong relationships with their donors?
- Practical reputation management for trustees
Or you can always contact us about training or consultancy support. And if you have anything you think we should include in next month’s round-up, please do drop me a line.
Richard Sved is an NCVO sustainable funding consultant. He has worked and volunteered in the charity sector for 25 years. He has led the fundraising function (in-house and as an interim) for six national charities, including National Literacy Trust, Leap Confronting Conflict and Girlguiding. 
